


Stand By Me

by KeeLimeArt



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: M/M, Post-Game(s), Sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-31
Updated: 2017-01-31
Packaged: 2018-09-21 05:53:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9534635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KeeLimeArt/pseuds/KeeLimeArt
Summary: Do not weep for the king, for he is in a far greater place than we will even imagine.Still, there is one who cannot live without this man, and would do anything to remain by his side.Stand tall, fall with pride, my friends.





	

Noctis Lucis Caelum, the 114th king of Insomnia, has fallen.  
\-----  
When the night has come

\-----

“We can’t hold them off much longer!” Ignis Scientia yelled over the crowd of daemons. Since the king left them to settle his final battles, more and more had been appearing to take on the castle. The three friends were soon outnumbered: One thousand to three. Ever so slowly, the horde cornered them closer and closer to the entrance.

“What do we do?!” Prompto Argentum panicked. He fired a few shots from his pistol into the crowd, but to no avail. The bullets were swallowed into a dark abyss of monsters. The creatures’ eyes stared tauntingly at the group, as if mocking their positions, mocking their eminent downfall.

A blindingly bright, blue light struck forth from the castle, tall and clear. It stood as a beacon, shining out hope to any who saw it, for that light marked the beginning of the end of the daemons’ reign. The beasts scampered away from it, as if they knew what was going to happen. Despite it looking like a victorious scene, the three friends couldn’t help but feeling a sinking pit rising in their stomachs.  
\-----  
And the land is dark

\-----

The destiny of the true king had been fulfilled, and already its effects were working through the area. Now, all they had to do was wait for the sun to rise once more.

Well, that and retrieve the king from the throne room. Gladio, Ignis, and Prompto headed upwards in the castle with heavy hearts. They knew what to expect once they got there, and one or two of them didn’t think they were ready. At the very least, Prompto knew that he wasn’t going to be able to handle it.  
\-----  
And the moon is the only light we’ll see

\-----

The room was no more than a ghost to them- a hollow shell of its former self. What used to be a formal, formidable figure that demanded respect was now a crumbled ruins filled with painful memory. The same could be said for the lifeless figure resting on its throne. 

The king’s hair was greasy and drenched with what was most likely sweat. His arms hung limply over his knees as he appeared to be doubled over himself. Instead of the normally slightly pale tone that rested on his features, a ghostly white overtook his skin. Still for the first time in his life, there laid the corpse of Noctis.

Neither the gaping hole in the wall nor the towering throne caught Prompto’s attention when he first entered the room. No, of course not. The prince- The king was what he was looking for. In an instant, tears began to brim his eyes and his lip quivered. After ten years of darkness, despair, and chaos, he finally cried.  
\-----  
No, I won’t be afraid

\-----

“Noct!” the blonde couldn’t help but yell out as he ran up to the seat. Gladio made a move to hold him back, but Ignis gingerly placed a hand on his shoulder.

As if the king could still register him, Prompto enveloped him in a tight hug, vowing never to let go. He allowed the tears to flow freely down his face, despite the nearby audience. 

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry,” he repeated. “This was all my fault. It’s always been my fault. Just like you said. Just like on the train… I’m sorry that I let you down. I’m sorry that I could never be who you wanted me to be. I couldn’t even protect you.”

A hideous, piercing shriek sounded from one of the corners of the room. Ignis and Gladio immediately took arms, preparing for the worst. Of course a few daemons were still wandering in the castle. Would Ardyn really be so ignorant? Ignis ran up to Prompto and shook him by the shoulder.

“We have to leave, now! It would be too dangerous to stay here,” he tried to reason.

“I’m not leaving him,” Prompto muttered.

“Prompto!” the English man scolded.

The blonde whipped around and smacked Ignis’s hand off of his shoulder. Immediately, he clutched his hands into fists.  
\-----  
Oh, I won’t be afraid

\-----

“I said I’m not leaving him!” he exclaimed, drawing the daemon closer. “I left him once, I’m not leaving him again!”

Ignis opened his mouth to protest when Gladio called from behind them, “Come on! We can’t leave this here!” With a huff, he turned away from Prompto to fight the beast.

The creature was much larger than they originally anticipated. It gnashed its horrible, sharped teeth at the group in a sort of taunting way. Two of them had sharp weapons. The other was an easy target. It wasn’t hard to guess which member it wanted to go for first, and it didn’t take long for the first two to figure it out, either. 

“Prompto, you have to fight!” one of them yelled at him, but he couldn’t hear. No, he wouldn’t. Why should he? What would he fight for now?

The beast ran up to the small blonde with dizzying speed. Ignis took a swipe its underside as it leap above their heads, but he did no more than scrape its belly. 

“Gladio!” he demanded. If they didn’t do something right then, it would be too late.

“On it!” came his reply. Gladio quickly scaled some of the rubble and leapt off, his sword pointing outwards. With brute force, he tore into the backside of the beast’s lightly armored shell, leaving a jagged spider web of cracks over the entire thing. 

Everything was eerily silent and still, just as it had been when they first arrived. Gladio allowed his sword to disappear, and he slid down the back of the shell. Ignis was right in front of him, staring down at the throne, which was blocked from the other’s view. 

“What happened? Is he okay?” he gruffly inquired. The incredibly muscular man walked around the side, and he would honestly admit that his heart stopped for two seconds. The answer to his question was a most definite, resounding no. 

Just before Gladio was able to strike the monster, it bit down on its prey. In front of the king’s throne sitting against his legs, was the upper half of Prompto Argentum. The other, inside the beast’s clasp. His eyes were still opened, never looking away from the beast, yet, the corners of his mouth, if Gladio wasn’t mistaken, were raised. He was smiling a soft, sad, peaceful grin.

Gladio went forth to remove him from the structure, but Ignis placed a hand against his chest to stop him.

“No, don’t. Leave him there. It’s all he’s ever wanted,” he asked of his friend. “Prompto was that light of everyone’s life, but for Noct, he was the very sun itself. Perfect fit, I must say, for Noct was his moon. While he gave everybody else the impression that he was happy-go-lucky and carefree, I’ve seen glimpses of what he was really like. And every time it happened, they were sitting together.

“I’m surprised that he lasted so long. But I suppose that it was hope that kept him alive. Hope that they would see each other again. If it weren’t for Noct, I doubt he would have lasted this long anyways. 

“You and I both know that you can’t have one without the other. It was only a matter of time. Finally, the two halves have been joined once again, so don’t move him. Let him rest beside the king.”

Ignis’s speech faded to a close, and along with it, a glimmer shone beyond the horizon. Gladio turned to watch the wonderful explosion of color for the first time in years.

“I guess that you’re right about one thing, Iggy. You really can’t have one without the other, and he’s coming back to us already.”  
\-----  
Just so long, as you stand, stand by me…

\-----

**Author's Note:**

> Is it too late to apologize?


End file.
